Green City Solutions

Vertical greenery – walls with moss replace a small wood

CityTrees aren't trees in the conventional sense: They are freestanding walls up to 4 m high, 60 cm thick, and home to over 1,600 moss plants. A built-in tank provides water, and solar panels provide electricity. Sensors monitor the water and nutrient supply, along with other factors. Thanks to its large surface area, the moss efficiently filters exhaust and particulate matter out of the air. One CityTree has the same environmental impact as up to 275 trees, and at just EUR 25,000 per wall, it equals just a fraction of the cost. One plan for the sustainable street furniture is to make stations more pleasant for travelers.

Since 2013, graduates from Dresden's Technical University and University of Applied Sciences have been working on projects concerning clean air and urban greening. Green City Solutions GmbH was founded in March 2014. When part of the DB Accelerator program in 2016, the start-up created an indoor version of its CityTrees solution for DB that was showcased at the 2016 InnoTrans trade fair. CityTrees have already been installed to improve air quality at Berlin Central and Essen Main Station.